Have You Read? Aviation Insignia of the United States of America

By Capt. Stan Baumwald (Northwest, Ret.) with Joe Weingarten

After maintaining a website that resembles a museum on the Internet (www.stanwing.com/catalog_index.html), Stan Baumwald was finally convinced to publish a book depicting the insignia worn by airline pilots and flight attendants in the United States. Often compared to an encyclopedia, Aviation Insignia of the United States of America is organized in alphabetical order and includes the years a particular emblem was worn and details about the airline. The book highlights wings from more than 900 airlines, fixed operators, and other agencies. You truly get a feel for the history of commercial aviation in America.

Badges for aviation started in 1913 when the U.S. Army issued the first ones to its pilots. Only about three dozen were made, as the Army believed that number would be enough. World War I found nations building large air armies, and the pilots coming home continued to fly—and soon the airline industry came into being. Some of these pilots worked for the Post Office, providing faster mail delivery, and many commercial pilots wore the U.S. airmail wing. Today, airline pilots and crews still proudly wear their wings.

Now in its sixth edition, Aviation Insignia of the United States of America includes more wings and badges—most of which are from Baumwald’s personal collection, likely the most complete collection in the world.

While the book focuses on insignia from U.S. airlines, it also covers government agencies, corporate flight departments, and the U.S. military. The book contains more than 900 entries and more than 4,000 color photos.

As with any endeavor like this, the information is difficult to keep up to date and will never be complete. However, the website is constantly being updated while the book is also revised as new printings are warranted. —Reviewed by Capt. John Whitehead (FedEx, Ret.)

Publisher: 1903 press, www.1903.com
Pages: 410
Available at: www.1903.com (Item BK-2-6) and Amazon.com

This article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of Air Line Pilot.

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